It's time we say 'enough'

Striking Chicago public school teachers rally in the Loop on Tuesday. (Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune)

Many of us have been touched by the magic of a great teacher. I know I have.

However, we must not allow this nostalgia to give us a romanticized view of what is actually happening every day in Chicago public schools. While there are many excellent CPS teachers, the reality is a tragedy of epic proportions. Hundreds of thousands of children are being doomed to an unacceptably poor education and the diminished lives that come with it.

The Chicago Teachers Union strike provides us all with a clear opportunity to examine the grossly inadequate performances of many public school teachers and highlight and reward the great performances of other teachers.

I have sat in a CPS math class and watched division being taught incorrectly. I have seen the standardized test scores of CPS teachers that indicate many of them aren't even capable of scoring 21 on the ACT, the absolute minimum score needed to be ready for college. How can we believe that these teachers can prepare our children for success? I helped review the calculations that prove CPS and CTU representatives and Illinois State Board of Education executives dummied down the Illinois Standards Achievement Test to make it appear that CPS schools were improving when they were not. I have seen data that show average CPS fourth graders are two to three grades behind national norms, and those in the 8th grade are four to five years behind. I have watched as hundreds of thousands of CPS students have graduated from high school completely unprepared for college or careers.

It is time we say "enough."

Let's recognize the CTU strike for what it is. Plain and simple, it is about the union's drive to protect Chicago's incompetent teachers at the expense of students and good teachers. We must not be fooled by the rhetoric that teachers are striking in the interest of students. Baloney. This strike is about protecting political power.

Bob Chanin, general counsel of the National Education Association, made it clear at a recent NEA convention when he declared that teachers unions are focused on protecting their massive power "... not because of the merits of our positions, not because we care about children, and not because we have a vision for a great public school for every child. The NEA and its affiliates … have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues every year."

A shocking statement, but also stunningly revealing.

To improve the schools, we must stand firm against this amassed power. To transform the quality of Chicago's public schools, we must do five things:

1) Expand Teach for America in Chicago, where we are able to recruit the nation's best and brightest to the teaching profession here.

2) Increase the number of campuses run by charter school organizations that have proven their ability to provide children a great education: Noble, Chicago International Charter School, UNO, KIPP and Learn Charter Schools.

3) Recruit the best, proven, most innovative charter and school management organizations from around the country to come to Chicago and open campuses here.

4) Install a rigorous new school accountability system of consistent, frequent, objective testing in every grade so parents can effectively compare schools and judge which ones are preparing students for long-term success.

5) Enable parents to select among the best schools by changing the way CPS financial resources are spent, not parsing it to schools directly but instead allocating funds directly to students so their parents can use that money to choose the right school for their child. By breaking up the CPS monopoly, we can dramatically improve our schools and provide a quality education for every child in Chicago.

The CTU strike is a tragedy for the children, parents and taxpayers of Chicago. But from tragedy can sometimes come clarity and renewed purpose. For those of us who have fought this fight in the education reform movement, the issue of performance versus power politics has never been clearer.

It's time for us to rise up and say "enough."

Bruce Rauner is a member of the board of the Chicago Public Education Fund and chairman of the education committee of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.